


How you say those words

by SmallTownBigDreams



Category: Figure Skating RPF
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-10
Updated: 2019-01-10
Packaged: 2019-10-07 22:44:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17374628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SmallTownBigDreams/pseuds/SmallTownBigDreams
Summary: How you say those words.It's not with eh, or a trembling voice.How you say those words, to me.How you say those words.It's not to the stars or the wide universe.





	How you say those words

**Author's Note:**

> Bolded lyrics are from the song "Plans" by Dustin Tebbutt

 

 

**_Hold you close, you feel part of my skin._ **

 

Two naked bodies, holding each other close. Limbs tangled and entwined together under the sheets. As he fell asleep in her arms, she ran her finger across the lines of his palm. Up and down and up and down tracing over the letter M that the creases made on his palm. _M on your palm means you’ll get married one day_ , she remembered her older sister telling her when she was very young and innocent. She can’t help but think maybe it was true, even though she does know better now. She lightly fingered the many scars he had received, memories of all the times her blades had sliced into him. Marking him as _hers_.

 

**_In the morning I'll map your palms again._ **

 

Soft light filtered through the blinds of her house, leaving a pattern of stripes on the wall. She woke up before him, a rare moment. She wasn’t a morning person, but she was a thinker. His hand was draped over her stomach. She turned it over and traced her finger over the M again.

 

**_And on your back I'll trace this story._ **

 

He moaned softly in his sleep as her finger tickled his skin, he rolled over onto his stomach, pulling his hand free from her grasp. She sat up and gazed at his body. He had put so much work into shaping it and making it strong for her, to hold her up. It was his gift to her and she appreciated it on so many levels. She ran her finger over the muscles of his back and then she traced letters on his bare skin with her finger. First Y-E-S and then I-L-O-V-E-Y-O-U.

 

**_Here today, the lines are everything._ **

 

The first lines she traced, were the answer to his question. A question she had waited her entire life to hear from his lips. A question she had answered last night, with her lips, but her fingers were reliving the moment.

  
_**How you say those words.**_  
_**It's not with eh, or a trembling voice.**_  
_**How you say those words, to me.**_  
_**How you say those words.**_  
_**It's not to the stars or the wide universe.**_

 

He asked her with such assurance and confidence. He asked her in the place that was only for the two of them, in the safety and privacy of the bedroom. No fans or cameras, no family or friends. Just two halves of one whole, agreeing to be whole, together forever, until death do them part.

  
  
**_How you say those words.  
It's only to me._**

Afterwards, they whispered _I love you_ and held each other tight as the tears flowed down their cheeks. They both had longed for the day this vision would become a reality. They had always hoped their timing would work and that they could move on from their past mistakes. They wished for this moment, a moment that would set them on a new course of adventure together.

 

 ** _In your backseat before the party._ **  
**The rain’s been on me since the border.**  
**I never thought we'd be at this harbor.**

 

The time had finally arrived to officially announce retirement to the world. There would be a press conference held at the community arena. The community had been their pillar of support from day one and the place their magnificent partnership was born. They sat side by side in the backseat of his car, rehearsing their speech. Both had agreed one announcement would be enough for today. Some secrets were meant to be kept a little while longer. At least with one partnership door closing, neither had to worry where the next door would open. It already had been unlocked, the path laid, they just had to cross that threshold. Together.

  
**_Didn't think I'd be here still._**  
**_How to say these words._**

 **_The space in my chest remembers the shape of you._ **  
**_How to say these words, I'll see._ **

 

They had drifted apart and together many times in between attempting to love others. There was a reason love never worked outside their partnership. They had grown and shaped themselves around each other. Every other love would be compared and contrasted. Nothing would ever be enough to fill the shape in their chests, _their hearts_. They were made for each other.

 

**_How to say these words._ _  
I've been in covers and who would've thought._ **

 

One day I’ll show these images to our grandchildren, she thinks as she finally places her copy of _the_ magazine into her keepsake box. It joins the others, a stack of magazines and newspapers featuring their accomplishments. She has kept everything over the last 20 plus years. There are other boxes holding medals and worn skates and racks of costumes, each holding a special place in her heart. She remembers the details from each item she keeps; a dress, the songs they danced to, and their placement. At age eight, she could not even fathom that one day she would have so many boxes filled with memories and pieces of their lives together.

 

**_How to say these words._ _  
I'm complete._ **

 

He completed her. She completed him. A unique fit. Yes, they had to work on that. They were still regularly shaping and moulding it. With the wedding ceremony behind them, there was only one thing, or a collection of things, that would make their lives fully complete. She just found out this morning that another new partnership would begin in just a few short months. She wasn’t sure she was fully ready, but she knew he was. He would be so excited to find out. She knew he would cry happy tears when she spoke the words to him. She wasn’t sure how to say these words to him, how to say these words, _You’re going to be a dad_.

 

 


End file.
